Rep. Jim Costa, who represents much of California's Central Valley, issued a statement on recent presidential elections in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic.

He said: "The United States stands with the people of Nagorno Karabakh because our citizens share so many of the same foundational ideals, including a commitment to the values of freedom, human rights, self-determination and democracy. With these most recent elections, the people of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic have truly lived up to the promise of democracy."

Nagorno Karabakh held presidential elections on July 19. Bako Sahakyan, gained 47 085 (66,7%) of the votes to win the presidential race. His major rival Vitaly Balasanyan garnered 22 966 (32,5%) of votes while Arkady Soghomonyan received 594 (0,8%) of votes.